Warrigal Creek Massacre facts for kids
Warrigal Creek is a place in Victoria, Australia. It is known for a sad event that happened in 1843 during the Australian frontier wars. This event involved a massacre of Gunai/Kurnai people by European colonists. The creek is on a farm about 40 kilometers south of Sale and 200 kilometers east of Melbourne, in an area called South Gippsland.
The Warrigal Creek Event
In July 1843, a man named Ronald Macalister was killed by Aboriginal men near Port Albert. After this, a Scottish colonist named Angus McMillan led a group of about 20 other colonists. McMillan was a pastoralist, meaning he raised livestock like sheep or cattle.
His group attacked and killed several groups of Aboriginal people over a few days. This group of Gaelic-speaking Scotsmen was known as the "Highland Brigade". One of their attacks was on the Brataualung people camped at Warrigal Creek. This was one of several events that led to many deaths among the Gunai Kurnai people.
Historians have different ideas about how many people died. Some say around 60 people were killed. Other sources suggest that up to 150 people may have lost their lives. Some historians believe the number 60 might be too high. The different numbers likely come from the fact that McMillan's group attacked Aboriginal people at five different places in the area.
A witness named Willy Hoddinott wrote about the event in 1925. He said that the "brigade" surrounded the Aboriginal people camped at a waterhole at Warrigal Creek. They fired into the group, killing many. Some people tried to escape into the bushes. Others jumped into the waterhole. Hoddinott said that more than 100 Aboriginal people were killed that day. He mentioned that two wounded people survived from the waterhole. One was a boy, about 12 to 14 years old, who was captured and made to lead the group to other camps.
Historian Peter Gardner has studied all the accounts of the massacre. He wrote that McMillan and the Highland Brigade wanted to remove all Aboriginal people from the area. Gardner believes McMillan's group first killed two family groups at the Warrigal Creek waterhole. A few days later, they killed another 60 people at the mouth of Warrigal Creek. They also attacked three other groups at Freshwater Creek, Gammon Creek, and Red Hill.
Even though many people believe McMillan led these massacres, there are still over 12 monuments dedicated to him in the Gippsland region today.
See also
- Gunai
- Gippsland massacres
- List of massacres of Indigenous Australians
